According to the band's Facebook page, original members Chuck "The Ska Father" Askerneese, Clyde "The City Gent" Grimes, Herman "The (OG) Flea" Askerneese, Jerry "The EQ" Miller, Bennet 'Caine' Carruthers and The Mighty Lamp will perform together again!

The Untouchables 'Wild Child' album was released 27 years ago during the spring of 1985. It remains one of the earliest and most popular examples of purely American-styled ska mixing in soul, pop and funk. The success of The Untouchables and their giant step from local Los Angeles ska/mod heroes to a major label deal with Stiff Records in the U.K. is a classic story about how old fashioned DIY marketing, self-promotion and good luck used to work in the music business (now all you need is a YouTube video!). Read more about the recording of the record here.

The band were a huge inspiration to me as a young ska and 2-Tone obsessed teen and a show I saw them play opening for UB40 at Fordham University here in New York City in 1985 helped convince me to start my own ska band. I've had the honor and pleasure of interviewing both original band vocalist Kevin Long and keyboardist/organist Josh 'Acetone' Harris who both played key roles in the initial success of the band in Los Angeles (Long) and its later international success for Stiff Records (Harris).

As background, The Untouchables exploded out of the O.N. Klub in Los Angeles in 1981 and soon provided the soundtrack for the ska/mod revival that spread like wild fire across Southern California in the late 70's and early 80's. The band quickly outgrew the small confines of the O.N. Klub as word of their live show grew and they sold out several self-released 7" singles. According to a 1985 Billboard story, the band raised $15,000 from private investors (who were paid back with interest!) and recorded the well-received 'Live & Let Dance' EP on the indie Twist Records label. Next they invested an additional $7,000 to produce a video for the song 'Free Yourself' which started to generate television airplay. As a result the EP sold 40,000 copies and the video won the 1985 award for best independent video from Billboard Magazine. The band also made memorable movie cameos in 'Repo Man' and 'Party Animal'.

If you live in or near Los Angeles and want to see some American ska history, get yourself to Los Globos! Oh, and if you do go, please video the show!

Who Is Marco On The Bass?

I heard ska and reggae music for the first time when I was 14 and it was love at first listen. I loved the sound, the look and the energy. It changed my life. A little bit later I picked up a bass and taught myself to play and in 1988 started the first ska/reggae band from New Jersey called Bigger Thomas. We are still together 25 years later. Maybe you've heard of us? No worries if you haven't! We've released 4 albums and toured the U.S and Canada a few times. As a musician I've had the good luck to meet and play with most of my musical heroes. That allows me to give readers the inside scoop on all the bands they love. I also tell the stories of the many bands who helped popularize ska in the U.S. and the U.K. I pay special attention to the birth of American ska and the stories of the bands and musicians who were ahead of their time and never received the recognition they deserved. I recently helped to form a new musical project titled Rude Boy George that performs ska, reggae and rocksteady versions of 80's new wave songs. We just released a 5-song EP titled "Take One" that is available on all digital platforms. I also just released my first solo album "Big Power."

Rude Boy George - Confessions -- New Wave Goes Ska!

80's New Wave Goes Ska! Confessions is Rude Boy George's way of paying tribute to the new wave tunes that meant the most to them when they were growing up. The nine songs they chose to cover were selected from the many they knew and loved and all were originally recorded between 1981 and 1983 — a period that corresponded with the explosion of 2-Tone ska , reggae and new wave on the radio, MTV and in 80's movies. The songs were produced by ex-English Beat bassist Wayne "Waylo" Lothian and feature the toasting of former English Beat vocalist Antonee First Class. So, if you like the idea of some of your favorite 80s new wave songs wrapped in a loving ska and reggae embrace, give their versions a spin.
Confessions by Rude Boy George

Marco On The Bass Releases 10-Song Album "Big Power" for FREE download

The inspiration for these 10 songs comes from my love of all things ska and reggae, but I also wanted to pay my respects to DJ culture and artists like Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim, Beats International), Gorillaz (Damon Albarn) and Acid Ska and Big Beat studio artists (Longsy D, Basement Jaxx) who have created unique and entertaining mash-ups that mix sampled vocals and found sounds over traditional reggae and ska bass, guitar and drums.
Since I'm not a singer, I utilize the borrowed vocal talents of many others as my stand in. This gives me a chance to also pay my respects to artists I love and have influenced me. You will hear Joe Strummer and LKJ as well as snippets of Terry Hall and Neville Staples of The Specials and Dave Wakeling of The English Beat, along with Malcolm X, Chuck D, Craig David, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and numerous reggae artists from the 60's and 70's.
So without further ado, I present to you 'Big Power' for your FREE downloading pleasure. All comments (good, bad or indifferent) are welcome!
Big Power by Marco On The Bass

The Best of Bigger Thomas Now Available!

To celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2013, Bigger Thomas released "Ska In My Pocket: The Biggest & Bestest of Bigger Thomas" a digital only retrospective featuring twenty one of our favorite songs taken from the four albums and two demo tapes we have recorded since forming the band in New Brunswick, NJ in 1988. Its available for download on the Bandcamp link below. We hope you enjoy it!

BIGGER THOMAS & RUDE BOY GEORGE LIVE!

Want to see Marco On The Bass perform with Bigger Thomas (New York 2-Tone Skalypsoul) or Rude Boy George (ska, reggae and rocksteady versions of 80's new wave songs)? Below is a list of each band's upcoming shows: